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A    COMPREHENSIVE   SKETCH 


OF  THE 


MERRIMAC  AND  MONITOR 
NAVAL  BATTLE 


GIVING  AN  ACCURATE  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  MOST  IMPORTANT 
NAVAL  ENGAGEMENT  IN  THE  ANNALS  OF  WAR 


ILLUSTRATED 


PUBLISHED    BY    THE    NEW    YORK    PANORAMA 
COMPANY 


COR.   MADISON  AVE.  &  FIFTY-NINTH  ST. 

NEW  YORK 

1886 


2ANORAMAJ 

MERRJMAjCgMONtt 


CORNER   MADISON  AVENUE  AND  FIFTY-NINTH  STREET,  NEW  YORK. 

In  the  above  building  is  a  vivid  and  realistic  representation  of  the  great  naval  battle 
between  the  confederate  iron-clad  Merrimac  and  its  consortst  arid  the  iron-clad  Monitor,  and 
several  large  wooden  ships  of  war  of  the  United  States  Navy. 

More  than  20,000  square  feet  of  canvas  cover  the  inner  walls  of  the  building,  while  the 
floor  is  covered  with  natural  ground,  water,  grass,  trees  and  other  accessaries,  so  perfectly,  that 
the  observer  who  stands  in  the  centre  of  all,  cannot  discern  where  the  real  joins  the  representa 
tion,  nor  can  he  fail  to  imagine  himself  on  the  very  spot,  with  the  actual  conflict  going  on 
about  him. 


MERRIMAC  AND  MONITOR,  BY  THEO.  POILPOT 

AUTHOR  OF 

The  Panorama  of  the  BATTLE  OF  REISCHOFFEN,  PARIS. 
"  "       STORMING  OF  THE  BASTILE,  PARIS. 

BATTLE  OF  BUZENVAL,  PARIS. 
"  "       CHARGE  OF  BALACLAVA,  LONDON. 

"  "       PASSAGE  OF  THE  DANUBE,  RUSSIA. 

"       BATTLE  OF  SHILOH,  CHICAGO, 

and   the   BATTLE   OF  MANASSAS  OR  SECOND  BATTLE  OF  BULL  RUN, 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C,  which  will  be  completed  in  February,  1886. 


CO-LABORERS 
ALL   GRADUATES   OF   THE   ECOLE   DES   BEAUX   ARTS,   PARIS 


Messieurs  L.  Du  PATY  (Sup't),  Messieurs  C.  H.  DELPY, 
P.  CARRIER-BELLEUSE,          "         L.  C.  BOMBLED, 
L.  KOWALSKY,  " 

G.  BELLENGER,  " 

E.  MERLOT, 
N.  REBERSAT, 


F.  BASSOT, 

F.  DE  LAUNAY, 

G.  PICARD, 
P.  BALLUE, 


A.  LE  PRINCE  (Manager). 
Foreground  by  C.  H.  RITTER,  of  Chicago. 


THE 

MERRIMAC  AND  MONITOR  NAVAL  RATTLE 


THE  furious  battle  in  Hampton  Roads  in  the  spring  of  1862,  which  began  with  the  sinking 
of  the  Cumberland,  the  burning  of  the  Congress,  the  setting  on  fire  of  the  Minnesota, 
and  the  rout  of  the  Roanoke  and  St.  Lawrence — all  Federal  men-of-war — by  the  great 
iron-clad  Merrimac  in  a  single  afternoon,  and  ended  with  the  gallant  attack  of  the  tiny  Monitor 
upon  the  big  floating  battery  the  next  morning,  is  one  of  the  most  momentous  and  remarkable 
naval  engagements  known  in  history.  None  of  the  features  of  war  that  make  battles  glorious 
were  wanting  in  this  sanguinary  conflict  upon  the  shallow  strait  which  on  that  spring  morning 
separated  the  camp  of  the  Northern  troops  from  the  white  tents  and  grim  batteries  of  the  soldiers 
of  the  South.  The  tale  of  that  day  abounds  in  deeds  of  valor  and  heroic  achievement  from  the 
hour  the  Cumberland  sank  with  guns  roaring  and  colors  flying  until  the  brave  commander  of 
the  Monitor,  with  his  eyes  blinded  from  the  effects  of  the  enemy's  shot,  gave  orders  from  the 
couch  where  he  lay  to  his  gallant  comrades  about  him. 

But  the  great  and  lasting  issue  of  the  battle  between  the  Merrimac  and  the  Monitor  is  the 
fact  that  it  revolutionized  the  Navies  of  the  world.  This  was  the  first  fight  of  iron-clad  vessels, 
and  its  effect  was  to  pronounce  the  doom  of  line-of-battle  ships,  and  to  demonstrate  that  rams 
and  iron-clads  were  in  future  to  decide  all  naval  warfare.  Another  remarkable  feature  of  this 
combat  to  prove  the  hardihood  and  gallantry  of  the  men  engaged,  is  the  circumstance  that 
both  of  the  vessels  were  in  a  great  measure  mere  experiments,  and  upon  experimental  trips 
when  they  met  and  fought,  and  that  to  the  danger  from  fire  and  sword  was  added  to  one  of 
them,  the  Monitor,  the  peril  of  foundering  at  sea. 

Before  the  summer  of  1861  had  passed,  both  sides  engaged  in  the  fratricidal  struggle  of 
North  against  South  had  awakened  to  a  realization  of  the  stubbornness  of  the  conflict,  and  knew 
that  the  combat  would  belong  and  bitter.  All  thoughts  of  an  early  cessation  of  hostilities  had 
been  put  aside,  and  the  entire  country  was  under  tribute  to  furnish  brains,  men  and  money  for 
an  extended  and  hazardous  campaign.  Three  years  before,  naval  officers  and  marine  constructors 
had  been  much  interested  in  the  successful  application  of  armor-plating  to  the  steam-frigate 
La  Gloire  of  the  fleet  of  Napoleon  III. ,  which  was  immediately  followed  by  the  Admiralty  of 
England  similarly  fitting  out  the  Warrior  and  Ironsides.  None  of  these  iron-clad  vessels  had 
been  tested  in  actual  warfare,  however,  and  it  was  therefore  as  an  experiment  that  Lieutenant 
George  M.  Brooke,  who  had  resigned  from  the  United  States  Navy  when  the  South  seceded, 
suggested  to  Secretary-of-War  Mallory  of  the  Confederacy,  that  the  frigate  Merrimac,  which 
had  been  burned  and  sunk  at  Norfolk  when  the  Federal  troops  abandoned  the  Navy  Yard, 
should  be  raised,  re-built  and  plated  with  armor  to  be  used  against  the  wooden  war  vessels  of  the 
North  in  the  coming  spring. 

His  plans  were  approved,  and  the  work  was  at  once  begun  in  the  Norfolk  Navy  Yard. 
Great  pains  were  taken  to  keep  all  information  concerning  the  fitting  out  of  this  iron-clad  from 
the  Navy  Department  of  the  North,  but  early  in  the  fall  news  of  the  undertaking  reached 
Washington.  The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  his  advisers  had  already  been  discussing  the  pro 
ject  of  constructing  iron-clad  vessels  fcr  use  against  the  South,  and  this  news  awakened  them 
to  a  sense  of  the  necessity  of  taking  immediate  action  in  the  matter.  Then  John  Ericsson  laid 
the  foundation  of  his  fame.  He  had  been  studying  the  subject  of  armor  plating  ever  since 
La  Gloire  had  been  thus  protected,  and  he  now  laid  his  plans  before  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
Gideon  Welles.  Captain  Ericsson's  idea  was  to  construct  what  he  called  a  "  fighting  machine," 
on  an  entirely  different  plan  from  that  of  all  other  armor-plated  vessels.  Instead  of  a  great 
floating  fort  of  unwiedly  bulk,  he  designed  an  almost  impregnable  steam  battery  of  light 
draught,  suitable  to  navigate  the  shallow  rivers  and  harbors  of  the  Confederate  States. 


lv  It  was  rl£/;e£sa'ry:  that  work  should  be  begun  at  once,  in  order  that  the  new  vessel  should  be 
ready  to  combat  the  re-constructed  Merrimac  when  navigation  opened  in  the  spring,  and  in 
October  ih\j  fceet  was  laid'vn  the  Navy  Yard  at  Green  Point.  She  was  finished  in  January  and 
commissioned  in;  February.'  The  name  Monitor,  which  has  since  become  the  generic  name  of 
all  war  vessels  of  her  class,  was  given  to  the  new  fighting  machine  by  Captain  Ericsson,  and 
he  thus  explained  the  origin  to  Gustavus  V.  Fox,  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy : 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2oth,  1862. 

SIR — In  accordance  with  your  request,  I  now  submit  for  your  approbation  a  name  for  the 
floating  battery  at  Green  Point. 

The  impregnable  and  aggressive  character  of  this  structure  will  admonish  the  leaders  of  the 
Southern  Rebellion  that  the  batteries  on  the  banks  of  their  rivers  will  no  longer  present 
barriers  to  the  entrance  of  the  Union  forces.  The  iron-clad  intruder  will  thus  prove  a  severe 
Monitor  to  those  leaders. 


HAMPTON 


But  there  are  other  leaders  who  will  also  be  startled  and  admonished  by  the  booming  of 
the  guns  from  the  impregnable  iron  turret.  "  Downing  street "  will  hardly  view  with  indiffer 
ence  this  last  "  Yankee  notion,"  this  Monitor.  To  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty  the  new  craft 
will  be  a  Monitor  suggesting  doubts  as  to  the  propriety  of  completing  those  four  steel-clad  ships 
at  three-and-a-half  millions  apiece.  On  these  and  many  similar  grounds  I  propose  to  name  the 
new  battery,  Monitor. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

J.  ERICSSON. 


When  the  Monitor  was  in  trim  for  battle  she  resembled — to  quote  a  Confederate  officer 
who  saw  her  assail  the  Merrimac  from  Sewall's  Point — "  a  tin  can  on  a  shingle."  A  newspaper 
correspondent  wrote,  that  at  a  mile's  distance  she  would  be  taken  for  a  raft  with  an  army  am 
bulance  amidships.  She  was  172  feet  in  length,  from  stem  to  stern,  and  her  thin,  lower  hull 
was  protected  by  an  overhanging  armor.  Her  deck  was  one  foot  above  the  water  line,  and  in 
the  centre  was  a  revolving  turret  containing  the  guns — two  ii-inch  smooth  bores,  firing  solid 
shot  weighing  180  pounds.  Her  speed  was  between  four  and  five  knots  per  hour.  Inaction, 
her  smokestacks  were  taken  apart  and  laid  flat  on  deck,  the  draught  to  the  engines  being  main 
tained  by  powerful  blowers.  The  pilot-house  was  situated  well  forward,  near  the  bow.  It  was 
built  of  wrought-iron  logs  nine  inches  thick,  bolted  through  the  corners,  and  covered  with  an 
iron  plate  two  inches  thick,  which  was  not  fastened,  but  kept  in  place  only  by  its  weight,  in 
order  to  furnish  an  egress  for  the  crew  in  case  of  necessity.  The  sight-holes  were  made  by  in 
serting  quarter-inch  plates  at  the  corners  between  the  upper  set  of  logs  and  those  next  below. 
This  structure  presented  a  flat  surface  on  all  sides  and  on.  top.  It  projected  four  feet  above 
the  deck,  and  was  barely  large  enough  to  hold  three  men  standing.  The  preparations  for  the 
departure  of  the  Monitor  were  so  hurried  that  the  mechanics  worked  upon  her  night  and 
day  until  the  hour  of  her  departure,  so  that  no  opportunity  was  offered  to  drill  the  crew  at  the 
guns,  to  work  the  revolving  turret  or  to  familiarize  the  crew  with  the  unusual  features  of 
the  vessel.  The  Monitor  was  commanded  by  Lieutenant  J.  L.  Worden,  and  her  executive 


ml/f^  '"X.  'K/\ 


GENERAL    MANSFIELD    AND    STAFF. 


officer  was  Lieutenant  S.  Dana  Greene,  a  boy  of  22  years.  Her  crew  were  all  volunteers,  Lieu 
tenant  Worden  having  been  authorized  to  select  his  men  from  the  crew  of  any  man-of-war  in 
New  York  Harbor.  The  Lieutenant  addressed  the  crews  of  the  North  Carolina  and  the  Saline, 
telling  the  men  of  the  dangers  of  a  sea-voyage  in  an  untried  iron  vessel,  and  the  certainty  of 
perilous  warfare  upon  their  arrival  in  Hampton  Roads  if  the  trips  were  accomplished  in  safety. 
Scores  of  sailors  responded  enthusiastically  to  this  appeal  ;  and  when,  on  Thursday  morning, 
March  6,  1862,  the  Monitor  left  New  York  in  tow  of  a  tug-boat,  she  carried  as  brave  a  hand 
ful  of  officers  and  as  bold  a  crew  as  ever  floated.  The  other  officers  besides  Worden  and 
Greene  were  Acting  Master  L.  N.  Stodder,  Acting  Master  J.  N.  Webber,  Acting  Master's 
Mate  George  Frederickson,  Acting  Assistant  Surgeon  D.  C.  Logue,  Acting  Assistant  Paymas 
ter  W.  F.  Keeler,  Chief  Engineer  A.  C.  Stimers,  First  Assistant  Engineer  Isaac  Newton,  Sec 
ond  Assistant  Engineer  A.  B.  Campbell,  Third  Assistant  Engineer  R.  W.  Hands,  Fourth  As 
sistant  Engineer  M.  T.  Sunstrom,  Captain's  Clerk  Daniel  Taffey,  Quartermaster  Peter  Williams, 
Gunner's  Mate  Joseph  Crown  and  Boatswain's  Mate  John  Stocking.  The  crew  numbered  42 
others,  a  total  of  58  men.  Such  were  the  gallant  mariners  who  started  on  a  stormy  March  day, 


braving  the  perils  of  shipwreck  in  their  iron  shell  only  that  they  might  encounter  greater  dangers 
from  an  enemy's  fleet  for  God  and  their  country. 

On    the   day  after   the   Monitor  left  New  York  Harbor  for  Hampton  Roads  the  Merri- 
mac  steamed  away  from  the  Norfolk  Navy  Yard  to  try  the  effects  of  her   armament   upon  the 


BURNING    OF    THE    CONGRESS. 


wooden  fleet  that  the  little  fighting-machine  unknown  to  them  had  started  out  to  protect.  Had 
the  Monitor  started  a  day  earlier,  or  had  the  Merrimac  waited  twenty-four  hours  longer  before 
leaving  Norfolk,  the  result  might  have  been  very  different,  for  the  big  iron-clad  would  then 

6 


have  been  compelled  to  fight  the  Monitor  and  the  wooden  vessels  all  at  once,  instead  of  having 
the  opportunity  to  disable  the  latter  first. 

The  Merrimac,  before  she  was  sunk  at  Norfolk,  was  a  frigate  of  3,500  tons  and  forty  guns. 
She  was  more  than  three  hundred  feet  in  length.  When  she  was  raised  she  was  cut  down  to 
her  old  berth  deck  and  both  ends  for  seventy  feet  was  covered  over,  so  that  when  the  vessel 
was  in  fighting  trim  they  were  just  even  with  the  water.  On  the  midship  section  a  roof  of 
pitch-pine  and  oak,  one  hundred  and  seventy  feet  long,  was  built  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  de 
grees.  This  roof  was  twenty-four  inches  thick,  and  extended  from  the  water  line  to  a  height 
of  seven  feet  above  the  gun  deck.  Both  ends  rounded  so  that  pivot-guns  could  be  used  as  bow 
and  stern-chasers.  This  wooden  backing  was  covered  with  iron  plates,  two  inches  thick  and 
eight  inches  wide,  the  first  tiers  being  put  on  horizontally,  and  the  outside  tier  perpendicularly, 
and  the  whole  bolted  through  the  woodwork  and  clinched  inside.  The  prow  was  of  cast  iron, 
projecting  four  feet,  and  the  pilot-house  was  forward  of  the  smoke-stack,  and  covered  with 
four  inches  of  iron,  as  were  the  sides.  The  rudder  and  propeller  were  entirely  unprotected. 
The  weakest  point  of  the  big  iron-clad  was  her  motive  power.  Both  engines  and  boilers  had 
been  condemned  on  her  return  from  her  last  trip,  and  were  very  defective.  They  could  not 
be  depended  upon  for  six  hours  at  a  time.  When  this  vast  floating  battery  was  completed 
she  was  re-christened  the  Virginia,  and  was  known  by  that  name  throughout  the  South,  but 
in  the  naval  records  she  has  always  been  known  as  the  Merrimac. 


HEAVY   GUNS    IN    FORT   AT   NEWPORT   NEWS    POINT. 

The  Merrimac  had  as  gallant  a  complement  of  officers  and  as  brave  a  crew  as  shipped  in 
the  Monitor.  Her  flag-officer  was  Commodore  Franklin  Buchanan,  who  commanded  Lieut. 
Catesby,  Ap  R.  Jones,  the  executive  officer ;  Lieut.  Charles  C.  Simons,  Lieut.  R.  D.  Minor, 
Lieut.  Hunter  Davidson,  Lieut.  John  Taylor  Wood,  Lieut.  J.  R.  Eggleston,  Lieut.  Walter 
Butt  ;  Midshipmen  Foute,  Marmaduke,  Littlepage,  Craig,  Long  and  Rootes  ;  Paymaster  James 
Semple,  Surgeon  Dinwiddie  Phillips,  Assistant  Surgeon  Algernon  S.  Garnett,  Chief  Engineer 
H.  A.  Ramsay,  Captain  of  Marines  Reuben  Thorn,  Boatswain  Hooker,  Gunner  Oliver,  Cap 
tain  Kevil,  commanding  a  detachment  of  the  Norfolk  United  Artillery,  and  a'  crew  of  three 
hundred  men.  As  was  the  case  with  the  Monitor,  workmen  had  been  on  the  Merrimac  up  to 
the  hour  of  sailing,  and  there  had  been  no  opportunity  of  drilling  the  men  in  the  management 
of  the  guns  or  the  handling  of  the  floating  arsenal.  Her  officers  and  crew  were  strangers  to 
each  other  and  to  the  ship.  She  traveled  at  a  slow  rate  of  speed,  and  steered  so  badly  that, 
with  her  great  length,  it  took  her  from  thirty  to  forty  minutes  to  turn,  while  her  draft  of 
twenty-two  feet  of  water  confined  her  to  a  comparatively  narrow  channel  in  the  Roads.  Never 
theless  she  was  faster  than  any  wooden  sailing  vessel,  and  her  great  weight,  with  the  iron  ram 
at  her  prow,  would  have  sunk  any  vessel  that  then  floated. 


,,^_  / 


It  was  about  eleven  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Saturday,  March  8th,  that  the  great  iron-clad 
steamed  out  of  Norfolk  and  up  the  Elizabeth  River  to  Hampton  Roads,  where  the  wooden 
war-ships  Cumberland  and  Congress  lay  at  anchor  off  Newport  News,  while  seven  miles  further 
the  war-frigates  Minnesota,  Roanoke  and  St.  Lawrence  were  anchored  off  Fortress  Monroe.  The 
Minnesota  and  Roanoke  had  been  sister-ships  of  the  Merrimac  before  she  was  rebuilt  as  an 
iron-clad,  and  carried  forty  guns  each.  The  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Congress  carried  each  fifty 
guns,  and  the  Cumberland  thirty. 

"> 


," 


V  :          ~^X         ,    -    •» 

..i'&L  .>,  ^i 


^ 


^*- 


MONITOR   AND    MERRIMAC. 


It  was  a  beautiful  spring  morning  that  the  Merrimac  started  upon  her  murderous  cruise. 
There  had  been  alight  rain  the  night  before,  and  the  sails  of  the  Cumberland  and  Congress  were 
loosed  to  dry,  washed  clothes  hung  in  their  rigging  and  the  sailors  were  lounging  carelessly  about 
in  the  sunshine,  when  the  great  black  monster  hove  in  sight  from  the  South  and  headed  di 
rectly  toward  them,  resembling,  as  the  pilot  of  the  Cumberland  said  in  his  report,  "a  huge 
half-submerged  crocodile."  Lieutenant  George  U.  Morris  was  in  command  of  the  Cumberland^ 
Captain  Radford,  her  commander,  being  absent  on  the  Roanoke  at  a  Court  of  Enquiry. 
Lieutenant  Morris  gave  orders  to  prepare  for  instant  action,  and  the  Cumberland  was  sprung 
across  the  channel  so  that  her  broadside  would  bear  upon  the  Merrimac.  When  the  huge  intruder 
had  arrived  within  a  mile's  distance  the  Cumberland  opened  upon  her  with  the  pivot-guns  and  a 
little  later  the  whole  broadside  fired  upon  her  ;  but  to  the  consternation  of  officers  and  men,  their 
heavy  projectiles  bounded  from  the  mailed  roof  of  the  Merrimac  like  balls  of  India  rubber,  and 
the  only  effect  of  the  volley  was  to  cut  off  her  flag-staff  and  bring  down  the  Confederate  colors. 
The  Congress  also  opened  upon  the  big  ironclad,  and 
the  Cumberland  fired  broadside  after  broadside  with 


the  effect,  finally,  of  blowing  the  muzzles 
off  two  guns  and  tearing  up  the  carriage  of  RELIEF  PARTIES. 

another,  besides  riddling  the  steam  pipes  and  smoke  stack,  and  sweeping  away  everything  out 
side  clean  ;  and  killing  and  wounding  twenty-one  men.  It  did  not,  however,  stop  her  head 
way.  The  Merrimac 's  ram,  also,  was  left  in  the  Cumberland.  The  black  monster  advanced 
steadily  until  within  a  few  feet  of  the  Cumberland,  when  she  sent  a  single  shell  through  the  port 
quarter,  killing  four  marines  and  five  seamen,  and  followed  it  up  with  a  murderous  broadside  at 
point-blank  range  that  mowed  down  officers,  marines,  gunners  and  sailors  before  it. 


The  Metrimac  then  steamed  a  mile  up  the  James  River  and,  turning,  came  down  under  full 

speed,  and  struck  the  ill-fated  Cumberland  under  the  starboard  bow,  knocking  every  man  on 

board  from  his  feet,  and  straightening  the  heavy  cable  chain  out  like  a  whipcord.     It  drove  a 

hole  in  the  hull  the  size  of  a  hogshead,  and  keeled  the  ship  over  so  that  her  yard-arms  nearly 

touched  the  water,  but  the  force  of  the  resistance  was  such  as  to  break  the  projecting  ram  from 

the   prow   of  the  iron-clad.     The  Cumberland  fired  broadside  after  broadside,  but  the  Merti- 

/";.:/>    . f "&%'%**''-  ...-  mac   slowly  fell  astern,  firing   as  she  went,  and 

^.+- •••""  •  doing  terrible  execution. 

"Surrender  that  ship,  Morris,  or  I'll  sink 
her,"  shouted  Lieut.  Jones,  a  former  schoolmate 
of  Lieut.  Morris,  through  one  of  the  port  holes 
in  the  Merrimac. 

"Sink  her  and  be  damned,"  replied   Morris, 

— - ,    ^.^  "I '11  go  down  with 

her,  first." 


A    SURGEON'S   OUTFIT. 

A  moment  later  the  red  flag,  meaning  "No  surrender,"  was  run  up  to  the  Cumber 
land's  fore-truck.  Again  the  Merrimac  ran  down  upon  her,  striking  her  amidships  and  doing 
murderous  work  with  her  guns.  The  decks  of  the  frigate  were  slippery  with  blood,  and  the 
scuppers  ran  red,  but  not  a  man  faltered.  As  fast  as  one  gun's  crew  were  killed,  another  took 
its  place,  and.  thus  gallantly  fighting,  the  vessel  slowly  sunk  lower  and  lower  in  the  water,  and 
one  after  another  her  guns  were  submerged.  A  shell  entered  the  ship's  galley,  and  exploded  in 
the  coppers,  scattering  small  fragments  in  every  direction,  and  killing  or  wounding  every  man 
in  the  vicinity.  In  the  forward  part  of  the  ship,  from  the  galley  to  the  manger,  lay  heaps  of 
the  dead  and  dying  ;  and  mangled,  gasping  forms  crawled  helplessly  upon  the  bloody  decks. 
The  captain  of  one  gun  had  both  legs  shot  off  below  the  knee,  but  he  hobbled  to  his  gun  and 
pulled  the  string,  and  was  crushed  to  death  by  the  recoil  of  the  piece  upon  him. 

The  Cumberland  settled  fast, 
but  her  guns  were  fired  after 
the  water  was  knee-deep  upon 
her  decks.  Then  Lieut.  Morris 
shouted  : 

"  Up,  my  brave  boys,  and 
save  yourselves  !  Every  man 
for  himself,  and  God  for  us 
all  !" 

All  of  the  boats  had  been 
shot  away  but  one,  and  it  was 
filled  by  those  who  were  for 
tunate  enough  to  reach  it  first. 
The  wounded  were  in  the 
all  perishing  with  the  ship. 


SINKING  OF  THE  CUMBERLAND. 


after  cock-pit,  and  the  chaplain  went  down  with  them, 
Some  of  the  uninjured  sailors  who  came  to  the  surface  of 
the  water  were  shot,  and  others  who  were  able  to  swim  reached  Newport  News  in  safety. 
Lieut.  Morris  sprang  overboard  as  the  ship  sank  and  was  rescued  by  his  men,  and  the  Cumber 
land-went  down  in  fifty-four  feet  of  water,  up  to  her  cross-trees,  with  the  flag  of  the  Union  still 
floating  from  her  top-mast.  Her  commander  had  made  the  most  desperate  resistance  against 
fearful  odds  known  to  the  annals  of  naval  warfare,  for  he  knew  that  to  surrender  his  ship,  with 
her  valuable  armament,  would  be  to  turn  her  over  to  the  Confederates  for  use  against  the 
Federal  fleet. 

The  victorious  iron-clad  now  turned  her  attention  to  the  Congress,  pouring  in  a  murderous 


fire  upon  her,  and  receiving  no  damage  in  return  from  the  other's  broadsides.  The  Congress, 
however,  fought  gallantly  for  an  hour  after  the  Cumberland  went  down,  but  her  losses  were 
terrible,  and  she  finally  ran  up  the  white  flag.  The  Minnesota,  St.  Lawrence  and  Roanoke  had 
all  started  down  from  Fortress  Monroe  when  the  firing  began,  but  the  channel  was  so  shallow 
that  the  two  latter  went  aground  only  a  mile  or  two  below  the  fort,  and  the  Minnesota  herself 
ran  aground  near  the  scene  of  action. 

From  the  Federal  batteries  at  Newport  News,  officers  and  men  had  watched  the  defeat  of 
the  two  frigates  in  great  consternation,  but  they  were  powerless  to  render  any  assistance,  and 
their  fire  had  no  effect  upon  the  iron-clad  Merrimac.  The  iron-clad  was  followed  from  Norfolk 
by  the  Confederate  gun-boats  of  the  James  River  squad  ;  and  as  soon  as  the  Congress  floated 
the  white  flag  Commodore  Buchanan  ordered  the  Beaufort  and  Raleigh  to  steam  alongside, 
take  off  the  men,  and  set  the  frigate  on  fire.  Lieut.  Smith,  commander  of  the  Congress,  had 
been  killed,  and  Lieut.  Pendergrast,  who  succeeded  him,  delivered  his  sword  and  colors  to 
Lieut.  Parker  of  the  Beaufort,  who  ordered  him  to  return  to  his  ship  and  have  the  wounded 
removed  as  rapidly  as  possible.  Meanwhile  the  Federal  forces  at  Camp  Butler,  under  com 
mand  of  Gen.  Mansfield,  kept  up  a  hot  fire  upon  the  Confederate  gun-boats.  The  2oth 
Indiana  Regiment  and  the  1st  and  2d  Volunteers  and  nth  Fire  Zouaves  Regiments  of  New 
York,  with  several  other  detachments,  were  lined  along  the  shore,  and  sharp-shooters  from  their 
rifle-pits  on  the  banks  picked  off  officers  and  men  on  the  decks  and  in  the  rigging.  Confederate 
officers  cried  to  Gen.  Mansfield  to  cease  firing,  and  pointed  to  the  white  flag  of  the  Congress. 


A  RESCUED  MARINE  RELATING  HIS  EXPERIENCE. 

"  The  ship  may  float  the  white  flag,"  shouted  the  General  in  return,  "  but  we  do  n't." 
Federal  Battery  L.,  of  the  Fourth  United  States  Artillery,  under  command  of  Capt.  R.  V. 
W.  Howard,  Lieut.  Joseph  P.  Sanger,  and  Lieut.  Hasbrouck,  also  kept  up  an  incessant  fire 
upon  the  Confederate  gunboats  from  Newport  News.  Lieut.  Sanger  opened  upon  two  tugs 
that  went  alongside  of  the  Congress,  bursting  the  steam-chest  of  one,  and  driving  both  away, 
and  at  the  same  time  a  lucky  shot  exploded  the  steam-chest  of  the  Confederate  gunboat,  York- 
town,  which  floated  off  and  grounded  on  Sewall's  Point.  Lieut.  Taylor  and  Midshipman 
Hutter,  of  the  Raleigh,  were  killed,  and  the  fire  finally  became  so  hot  that  the  gunboats  were 
driven  away  with  only  thirty  prisoners. 

Finding  that  he  would  be  unable  to  take  possession  of  the  Congress,  Commodore  Buchanan 
ordered  that  she  be  fired  with  hot  shot,  and  in  a  short  time  she  was  in  flames  fore  and  aft. 
Lieut.  Pendergrast  and  most  of  his  men  were  still  on  board,  but  most  of  them  effected  their 
escape  through  the  blazing  rigging  and  sails,  and  swam  to  Newport  News,  where  many  of  the 
wounded  died  on  shore.  Commodore  Buchanan  had  been  severely  wounded  during  the  last 
engagement,  and  the  command  now  devolved  upon  Lieut.  Catesby  Jones.  The  Minnesota  was 
aground  and  at  his  mercy ;  but,  as  it  was  five  o'clock  and  darkness  was  approaching,  the  pilots 


of  the  Merrimac  would  not  attempt  the  middle  channel  with  the  ebb-tide  against  them.  The 
Merrimac  therefore  returned  to  Sewall's  Point,  intending  to  capture  or  destroy  the  Minnesota 
in  the  morning.  » The  flag-staff  had  been  repeatedly  carried  away,  and  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  combat  the  colors  were  kept  flying  from  the  smoke-stack  and  a  boarding-pike.  The  damage 
to  the  Merrimac  was  all  to  the  exterior  of  the  vessel,  and  her  armor  was  hardly  injured.  At 
Sewall's  Point,  Commodore  Buchanan  and  the  other  wounded  were  sent  to  the  Naval  Hospital, 
and  as  one  of  the  officers  afterward  said  :  "  We  slept  at  our  guns,  dreaming  of  other  victories  in 
the  morning." 

The  Merrimac'' s  crushing  victory  over  the  two  Federal  war  ships  having  taken  place  within 
sight  of  both  camps,  the  news  was  received  in  Washington  and  Richmond  before  nightfall.  In 
the  South  the  victory  was,  of  course,  the  occasion  of  the  wildest  rejoicing,  but  in  the  North 
the  utmost  consternation  was  felt.  President  Lincoln  called  a  meeting  of  the  Cabinet,  upon 
receiving  the  news,  and  each  member  manifested  great  depression. 

"  The  Merrimac"  said  Secretary  Stanton,  "will  change  the  whole  character  of  the  war. 
She  will  destroy,  seriatim,  every  naval  vessel.  She  will  lay  all  the  cities  on  the  seaboard  under 
contribution.  I  shall  immediately  recall  Burnside  ;  Port  Royal  must  be  abandoned.  I  will 
notify  the  Governors  and  municipal  authorities  in  the  North  to  take  instant  measures  to  protect 
their  harbors.  We  may  even  receive  a  shell  or  a  cannon-ball  from  the  Merrimac  in  the  White 
House." 

All  during  that  night  the  Congress  burned  in  Hampton  Roads,  watched  by  hundreds  of 


FOURTH  UNITED  STATES  LIGHT  ARTILLERY  FIRING  AT  THE  PILOT  HOUSE  OF  THE  MERRIMAC. 

soldiers  from  Newport  News  and  Sewall's  Point,  and  by  the  sailors  on  board  the  Minnesota, 
lying  aground  and  expecting  to  be  scuttled  in  the  morning  by  the  remorseless  black  monster 
that  had  destroyed  her  sister  ships.  The  burning  vessel,  seen  from  the  shore,  was  a  beautiful 
sight  as  the  flames  crept  up  the  rigging  and  every  mast,  spar  and  rope  glittered  against  the  sky 
in  dazzling  lines  of  fire.  For  hours  the  flames  raged,  with  hardly  a  perceptible  change  in  the 
wondrous  picture,  and  at  regular  intervals  loaded  guns  and  shells,  exploding  as  the  fire  reached 
them,  sent  forth  their  deep  reverberations  echoing  and  re-echoing  from  every  headland  of  the 
bay.  The  masts  and  rigging  were  still  standing  apparently  almost  intact,  when,  about  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  sky  was  rent  by  a  tremendous  flash  and  a  vast  sheet  of  flame  rose 
high  into  the  air.  Blazing  fragments  filled  the  sky,  and,  after  a  long  interval,  a  deep,  deafen 
ing  report  announced  the  explosion  of  the  ship's  powder  magazine.  The  hull  of  the  vessel  still 
remained  intact,  however,  and  continued  to  burn  until  its  brightness  was  effaced  by  the  morn 
ing  sun. 

But  the  joyful  anticipations  of  the  Confederacy  were  doomed  to  disappointments  as  the 
gloomy  forebodings  of  President  Lincoln  and  his  Cabinet  were  destined  not  to  be  realized. 
During  that  day  of  carnage  and  blood  the  gallant  little  Monitor  had  been  bravely  buffeting  her 

13 


N 


way  southward  to  Hampton  Roads.  The  day  b-iiore  she  had  only  avoided  foundering  with  all 
on  board  by  the  herculean  efforts  of  officers  and  crew.  The  berth-deck  hatch  leaked  in  spite 
of  all  that  could  be  done,  and  the  water  came  down  under  the  turret  lika  a  waterfall,  and 
through  the  narrow  eye-holes  in  the  pilot-house  with  such  force  as  to  knock  the  helmsman 
completely  round  from  the  wheel.  The  water  also  came  through  the  blower-pipes  in  such 
quantities  that  the  belts  of  the  blower  engines  slipped  ;  and,  the  artificial  draught  upon  the 
engines  ceasing,  the  fires  could  not  get  enough  air  for  combustion.  To  add  to  their  peril, 
when  Engineers  Stimers  and  Newton  rushed  into  the  engine-room  to  repair  this  difficulty, 
they  were  almost  suffocated  by  escaping  gas,  and  it  was  necessary  to  carry  them  to  the  top  of 
the  turret  to  revive  them.  The  water  now  poured  in  through  the  hawser-hole  and  down  the 
smoke-stacks  and  blower-pipes  in  such  quantities  as  to  threaten  to  sink  the  vessel.  The  engine- 
room  was  uninhabitable  on  account  of  the  gas  the  steam-pumps  could  not  be  operated  because 
the  fires  had  been  almost  extinguished,  and,  when  the  hand-pumps  were  tried  they  were  found 
not  to  have  sufficient  force  to  throw  the  water  through  the  top  of  the  turret,  the  only  opening. 
Lieut.  Greene  said  that  it  was  only  the  subsidence  of  the  wind  that  prevented  the  vessel  from 
sinking-  But  toward  evening  it  became  calm,  and  the  engines  were  again  put  in  operation.  At 
midnight  rough  weather  was  again  encountered,  and,  to  add  to  the  other  difficulties,  the  wheel- 
ropes  were  jammed.  All  night  officers  and  men  fought  the  leaks,  and  toward  morning  smooth 
water  was  once  more  reached. 

At  four  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  which  proved  calm  and  peaceful,  the  little 
Monitor  passed  Cape  Henry  and  heard  the  booming  of  the  guns  that  were  then  setting  fire  to 


A    SHELL    EXPLODING    AMONG   A    RESCUING    PARTY. 

the  ill-fated  Congress.  Steaming  into  Hampton  Roads,  unperceived  by  the  enemy's  vessels  in 
the  darkness,  Lieut.  Worden  found  the  Minnesota  hard  aground,  expecting  to  be  scuttled  in  the 
morning,  and  learned  the  extent  of  the  disasters  inflicted  upon  the  Congress  and  Cumberland  \>y 
the  Merrimac.  The  Congress  was  then  burning  brightly,  and  the  men  on  the  Monitor  witnessed 
the  final  explosion,  and  by  the  light  of  the  burning  vessel  saw  the  top-masts  of  the  Cumberland 
rising  from  the  water  with  the  Union  flag  that  had  been  defended  so  valorously  still  flying  from 
the  peak.  Undaunted  by  the  terrible  destruction  her  huge  adversary  had  accomplished, 
the  little  Monitor  prepared  to  attack  her  in  the  morning  ;  and  when  daylight  broke  on  Sunday 
the  Merrimac  and  her  consorts  were  discovered  at  anchor  off  Sewall's  Point.  Lieut.  Greene,  of 
the  Monitor,  has  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  physical  condition  of  the  officers  and  men 
of  the  two  ships  was  in  striking  contrast.  "  The  Merrimac"  he  said,  "  had  passed  the  night 
quietly  near  Sewall's  Point,  her  people  enjoying  rest  and  sleep,  elated  by  the  thoughts  of  the 
victory  they  had  achieved  that  day,  and  cheered  by  the  prospects  of  another  easy  victory  on  the 
morrow.  The  Monitor  had  barely  escaped  shipwreck  twice  within  the  last  thirty-six  hours,  and 
since  Friday  morning  (forty-eight  hours  before)  few,  if  any,  of  those  on  board  had  closed  their 
eyes  in  sleep,  or  had  anything  to  eat  but  hard  bread,  as  cooking  was  impossible." 

At  half-past  seven  o'clock  the  Merrimac  left  Sewall's  Point  and  steered  in  the  direction  of 
the  Minnesota.  Her  officers  had  detected  the  Monitor,  and  knew  that  she  was  the  iron-clad  that 
had  been  building  in  Greenpoint,  but  victory  had  made  them  confident,  and  the  diminutive  aspect 


of  the  little  fighting  machine  provoked  their  ridicule.  The  Monitor  at  once  advanced  to 
meet  the  bulky  iron-clad  in  order  to  keep  her  as  far  away  from  the  helpless  Minnesota  as 
possible.  Lieut.  Word  en  took  his  place  in  the  pilot-house,  and  with  him  were  Pilot  Howard 
and  Quartermaster  Williams,  who  steered  the  vessel  throughout  the  engagement.  Lieut. 
Greene  had  charge  of  the  guns  in  the  turret,  assisted  by  Acting-Master  Stodder,  Chief  Engineer 
Stimers  and  sixteen  brawny  men.  As  the  Monitor  reached  the  Merrimac  the  wooden  vessels 
left  her,  and  the  next  moment  the  Monitor  fired  the  first  shot  The  Merrimac  retaliated  with 
a  broadside,  and  several  heavy  shots  struck  the  turret,  which  remained  intact  and  continued  to 
revolve.  This  gave  the  gunners  confidence,  and  broadsides  were  exchanged  as  fast  as  the  guns 
could  be  served,  sometimes  at  a  distance  of  only  two  or  three  yards  apart.  The  little  Monitor 
dodged  about  her  bulky  adversary  trying  to  find  a  vulnerable  spot ;  once  a  dash  was  made  at 
the  stern  to  disable  the  screw,  but  the  vessel  missed  its  mark.  The  Merrimac  aimed  most  of 
her  shots  at  the  turret  of  the  Monitor^  and  the  iron  hail  beating  upon  the  iron  roof  almost 
deafened  the  gunners  with  its  terrible  detonations.  Acting-Master  Stodder  was  disabled  by  a 
shot  that  struck  the  turret  as  he  was  leaning  against  it,  and  his  work  devolved  upon  Engineer 
Stimers.  The  speaking-tube  from  the  pilot-house  to  the  turret  was  broken  early  in  the  action, 
so  that  it  was  impossible  for  the  Commander  to  communicate  with  the  Executive  Officer  except 
by  means  of  messengers,  which  greatly  increased  the  difficulties  of  the  emergency,  since  a  great 
many  technical  communications  miscarried.  Once  the  Merrimac  tried  to  ram  the  Monitor,  but 
the  little  vessel  nimbly  dodged  the  blow,  and  at  the  same  moment  Lieut  Greene  planted  a 
one  hundred  and  eighty  pound  shot  upon  the  forward  part  of  the  other's  casement. 

All  the  morning  the  battle  raged  at  close  quarters,  but,  soon  after  noon,  a  shell  from  the 
Merrimac  struck  the  sight-hole  in  the  forward  side  of  the  pilot  house,  and  exploding  lifted  the 

iron  plate  and  completely 
blinded  Lieut.  Worden,  who 
was  standing  immediately 
""  —  behind  it.  The 


THROWING   ROPES   TO    DROWNING  MEN. 

flood  of  light  rushing  into  the  pilot  house  caused  Worden,  in  his  blinded  condition,  to 
believe  that  the  vessel  was  severely  injured  ;  he  gave  orders  to  sheer  off,  and  left  Lieut.  Greene 
in  command.  Wounded  and  suffering  as  he  was,  Lieut.  Worden's  fortitude  never  forsook  him, 
and  when  he  was  told  that  the  Minnesota  was  saved,  he  said  :  "  Then  I  can  die  happy."  Lieut. 
Greene  at  once  ordered  another  attack  upon  the  Merrimac,  but  it  was  discovered  that  she  was 
on  her  way  to  Sewell's  Point.  A  few  shots  were  fired  after  her,  and  she  continued  on  her  way 
to  Norfolk.  Both  the  Merrimac  and  the  Monitor  claimed  the  victory  in  this  first  contest  of 
iron-clads— the  Merrimac  on  the  ground  that  the  Monitor  first  sheered  off  ;  while  the  Monitors 
officers  insist  that,  though  they  temporarily  discontinued  hostilities,  the  Merrimac  was  the  first 
to  retreat.  Lieut.  Greene  says  :  "  It  has  never  been  denied  that  the  object  of  the  Merrimac  on 
the  gth  of  March  \vas  to  complete  the  destruction  of  the  Union  fleet  in  Hampton  Roads,  and 
that  in  this  she  was  completely  foiled  and  driven  off  by  the  Monitor;  nor  has  it  been  denied 
that,  at  the  close  of  the  engagement,  the  Merrimac  retreated  to  Norfolk,  leaving  the  Monitor  in 
possession  of  the  field." 

Both  of  the  vessels  that  were  destined  to  revolutionize  naval  warfare  were  short-lived.  The 
Merrimac,  upon  arriving  at  Norfolk,  was  placed  in  dry-dock  and  thoroughly  repaired,  a  much 
heavier  ram  being  substituted  for  the  one  she  had  lost  in  the  attack  upon  the  Cumberland. 
Commodore  Josiah  Tatnall  was  placed  in  command  when  the  repairs  were  completed,  and 
early  in  April  the  Merrimac  again  steamed  down  to  Hampton  Roads.  No  more  fighting  was 
done,  however  ;  and,  when  the  Confederates  evacuated  Norfolk,  Commodore  Tatnall  was 
obliged  to  burn  the  Merrimac  in  James  River  to  prevent  her  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Fed- 
eral  troops.  In  December  of  the  same  year  the  Monitor  foundered  and  sunk  with  many  of  her 
crew  in  a  storm  off  Cape  Hatteras,  while  on  her  way  to  Charleston. 

15 


is  SEEN  IN   THE   PANORAMA. 


THE  Panorama  presents  pictures  of  both  day's  battle,  bringing  in 
the  action  with  the  Monitor  on   the  second   day,  and  depicting 
also  the  carnage  wrought   by  the  Merrimac  on  the   day  before. 
The   burning  of  the   Congress,  the   sinking  of  the   Cumberland,  and   the 
short  range  engagement  between  the  Monitor  and  the  Merrimac,  are  the 
principal  figures  of  the  naval  scene.     The  land  scene  represents  Camp 
Butler   at    Newport    News,    whence    the    Federal    troops   watched    the 
overthrow  of  their  own  fleet  and  drove  the  Confederate  gunboats  from 
the  surrendered  Congress  on  one  day,  and  witnessed  the  engagement  of 
the  great  iron-clad  with  the  tiny  Monitor  on  the  next. 

The  point  of  view  of  the  spectator  is  from  Newport  News  Point.  The 
gray-bearded  officer  on  the  white  horse  is  Gen.  Mansfield,  and  the  horse 
men  with  him  are  members  of  his  staff,  and  Col.  Brown  and  Adjt. 
Stiles  of  the  2Oth  Indiana  Infantry.  Back  of  them  are  the  white 
tents  of  the  camp  and  the  houses  of  the  village.  Nearer  the  blazing 
Congress  the  artillery  is  being  brought  into  position,  and  upon  the  beach 
soldiers  are  running  to  the  rescue  of  the  shipwrecked  crew.  To  the 
right  of  the  Congress,  in  the  shallow  water,  the  Minnesota  rests  aground. 
Opposite  Camp  Butler  the  Monitor  and  the  Merrimac  are  raining  shot 
and  shell  upon  each  other's  iron  sides,  and  the  two  smaller  Confederate 
vessels,  Jamestown  and  Yorktown,  are  firing  upon  the  Minnesota  further 
out  the  Roads,  while  the  neutral  vessels  of  the  British  and  French  fleets 
are  observing  the  battle  in  the  distance.  At  the  right  of  the  scene  the 
gallant  Cumberland  is  sinking  with  her  guns  roaring  and  colors  flying, 
her  crew  escaping  by  the  life-boats  or  attempting  to  swim  ashore.  Far 
to  the  east  Fortress  Monroe  is  dimly  outlined  with  the  rip-raps  fortifi 
cation  in  mid-channel  opposite,  to  the  right.  The  rifle  pits  and  earth 
works  of  Camp  Butler  are  accurately  represented,  and  the  nthN.  Y. 
Fire  Zouaves  are  portrayed  advancing  rapidly  between  the  white  tents 
to  the  shore  to  take  part  in  the  conflict. 


,  K  J 

*•    u>   r-       ~i4 


GILL188   BROTHERS  &   TURNURE,   ART  AGE   PRESS,    75-79  FULTON   STREET,    NEW   YOR> 


GAYLAMOUNT 

PAMPHLET  BINDER 

** 

Manufactured  by 

i  GAYLORD  BROS.  Inc. 

Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

Stockton,  Calif. 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $t.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


MAR  21   1947 


9  1347 


28Jan'57C» 


— 


ro  CD 


2lFeb'5!Sf' 


'fllfl 


